The Vas-Band: Vasectomies No More

REIMS, FRANCE – French urologist, Dr. Jacques LeStrappe, presented his newest innovation at the recent International Society of Urologists in Geneva, Switzerland that will forever change the landscape of male fertility procedures including vasectomies.

Using the same inflatable technology of the well-known gastric banding procedures, LeStrappe has created a reversible vasectomy procedure, the Vas-Band that has no known time limit on its reversibility, unlike its traditional vasectomy counterpart.

An inflatable band is placed around each vas deferens through small incisions in each side of the scrotum.  Patients then obtain serial inflations, via injections of saline, to gradually close off the vas deferens and complete the infertility process.  If fertility is desired, saline is aspirated and the band is deflated.

LeStrappe followed a cohort of 23 promiscuous male volunteers over the course of 2 years.  The rate of children fathered over this time dropped dramatically after implantation and was statistically significant.  Each volunteer had an average of 5 baby’s mamas pre-implantation, with a mean of 0.43 new baby’s mamas post-implantation.

The 10 children that were fathered by the cohort appeared to be related to lack of follow-up/incomplete inflation, slippage/failure of the band, and band rejection.  Two of the children were twins and one male subject had to have the implant removed due to scrotal inflammation.

When asked about procedure and its innovation, LeStrappe stated that “the Vas-Band will allow men to be free with their love and not worry about procreation until they are more responsible, which may take many years, if ever.  Women will love it since it will help promote male empathy with having implantable objects placed in their bodies to help prevent pregnancy.”

Side effects include cosmetic deformity, development of sperm antibodies, infection, hematoma, and implant rejection.  There also may be a small risk of sexual partner rejection.  Some cosmetic deformity is expected (scrotal distension or distortion) and patients may adjust the surrounding man-scaping to hide any unpleasant cosmesis.